Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Virus probe into Gold Coast luxury yacht
The occupants of a luxury yacht which allegedly visited COVID-19 hotspots before arriving on the Gold Coast are under investigation, Queensland authorities say.
August 27, 2020
A group who sailed from Victoria to Queensland aboard a luxury yacht under an exemption for repairs are being investigated.
Seven people arrived on the Gold Coast aboard the Lady Pamela on Monday, and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the vessel was not supposed to stop during the journey.
“They were (also) only meant to have the people necessary to bring the yacht safely up to Queensland,” she said.
“That’s the issue that’s being further investigated … That’s a very serious investigation.”
All those who were aboard are now in hotel quarantine and their travel exemption to come to the Sunshine State for maintenance has been revoked.
Meanwhile, health authorities are urging people to continue coming forward for COVID-19 tests, saying there may be undiagnosed cases linked to a Brisbane youth detention centre cluster in the community.
It comes after an eleventh person linked to the centre tested positive for the disease on Wednesday.
The new case was a known close contact of one of the other infected people and already in quarantine.
Despite this, Dr Young said there was still a risk of community transmission from the cluster, saying health officials had not found the source of the infection.